Zandvoort: Ekstrom fastest in first practice

Abt-Audi and Opel strong at Zandvoort
During the first encounter of the DTM racing drivers at the ninth and
penultimate round of the season at the 4.3 kilometres long Circuit Park
Zandvoort/NL, the Abt-Audi and Opel-drivers were setting the...

Abt-Audi and Opel strong at Zandvoort

During the first encounter of the DTM racing drivers at the ninth and
penultimate round of the season at the 4.3 kilometres long Circuit Park
Zandvoort/NL, the Abt-Audi and Opel-drivers were setting the pace: after
90 minutes, last year's winner Mattias Ekström was the man on top.
With the Abt-Audi TT-R, he outpaced Laurent Aiello (also Abt-Audi) by
half a second. Third place was occupied by fellow Audi-driver Karl
Wendlinger from the championship's runner-up, local hero Christijan
Albers with the AMG-Mercedes CLK.

In fifth place, Peter Dumbreck was the
fastest driver with an Opel Astra V8 Coupé. The second local hero,
Opel-youngster Jeroen Bleekemolen, put his Astra Coupé in seventh place
ahead of his fellow Opel-drivers Manuel Reuter and Alain Menu. Points
leader Bernd Schneider was only 13th.

"I did an impeccable lap, something that one does only
seldom," Mattias Ekström said. "My Audi was perfect, and the
track with its fast corners is really fun." Christijan Albers, who
has won three races this year, was delighted: "The track is just
great and a real challenge every time round. Thinking of the fact that
thousands of my compatriots will be supporting me sends shivers down my
spine." Jeroen Bleekemolen, son of a well-known Dutch family of
racing drivers, said: "Maybe, I have a little bit of a home
advantage here indeed. After all, I did my first laps here at the age of
eight! Moreover, it is an incredible motivation to be racing at
home."

300 school kids attending the DTM at Zandvoort

On Friday afternoon, 300 school kids from Zandvoort will be visiting the
DTM, invited by the ITR and the organisers. The kids will be arriving
with their bicycles and will be welcomed by the two young Dutch
DTM-drivers Christijan Albers and Jeroen Bleekemolen. After that, they
will be allowed to experience the DTM-atmosphere in the pit lane and may
look behind the scenes. After that, they are off to the grand stand to
follow practice of the Porsche Carrera Cup, and then, the kids will be
riding home with their bicycles again.